"Pooch" Donovan

William “Pooch” Donovan was born in Natick, MA on March 15, 1868. He was a cousin of Keene Fitzpatrick. He was a member of the Natick Hook and Ladder team that later became known as the "Natick Immortals." His athletic training career began when he became an assistant to Mike Murphy at Yale in the late 1880's. He would later assist Fitzpatrick at Yale.

Donovan would work at the Worcester Athletic Club and Worcester Academy, Brown, and Harvard. When hired by Harvard in 1906, he replaced Jack McMasters. Donovan would work at several Olympics as a track coach. It was in Amsterdam in 1928 that he became ill and had to return home. He would die at age 62, on August 21, 1928, in Natick.